Weaving has been known for many years. Due to the highly specialized nature of the field, there are certain definitions which will be set forth herein for proper understanding of the invention.
FIG. 1 shows a typical plain weave pattern 100. In this plain weave, there are a first plurality of substantially parallel yarn pieces which are all perpendicular to a second plurality of substantially parallel yarn pieces. The first yarn pieces such as 102 are known in the trade as warp yarn. This yarn 102 is in the loom at the time when the weaving is accomplished. The second yarn pieces, as exemplified by 104, are the fill or weft yarn. This yarn 104 is inserted across the warp yarns 102 to form the weave pattern. The weave is formed as a diagonal--that is each particular type of intersection of warp and weft yarns 102, 104 is repeated at a diagonal to the previous intersection. For instance, intersection 106 has the warp yarn 110 above the weft yarn 112 or warp over weft. Therefore, intersection 108, at a diagonal to intersection n106, has this same characteristic (warp over weft).
The ends per weave repeat is the number of warp yarns (also called "ends") which exist in one pattern. For instance, if FIG. 1 were to be considered as a single pattern in the weave, the ends per weave for this structure would equal 3.
Denier is a term which is used specifically in synthetic-type fabrics, such as nylon and polyester. In these synthetic fabrics, the yarns are composed of filaments. This can be seen with reference to FIG. 2 which shows a plurality of filaments 120, 122 in yarn 124. The denier is a measure of usually the weight in grams of 9000 meters of a yarn. Typically, filament yarns are also specified by the number of filaments making up the yarn. However, for present purposes, denier will be expressed in yarns per pound.
Traditionally, in impression printing tape, a one by one plain weave of dense construction has been used to obtain a material with a maximal amount of ink holding characteristics. A twill weave has not been used for this purpose.
It is desirable to have a large amount of ink stored in the material to minimize the frequency of ribbon changing. One way to do this is to "open" the weave, providing large interstices between yarns to serve as ink reservoirs. Another way is to add layers of ink to the fabric surface. However, as the amount of yarn per square inch is reduced, a critical point is reached at which the clarity of the print which can be obtained from this fabric suffers. However, as a limiting factor, there is only a standard clearance between the paper to be imprinted and the impact mechanism in which this material is located, typically, 5/10,000 of an inch. Therefore, the inked fabric cannot merely be thickened to increase its printing clarity or its ink retention. Therefore, what has been needed in the art is a material which has maintained the same properties of print clarity and has increased ink retention per square inch and per unit thickness.